European Chequered Plate Prices Bounce Back, Breaking 7 Months Sluggish Trend

Germany: After bottoming out a week earlier, Chequered Plate (Stainless Steel) prices in the European market began to recover in the week ending on December 16. According to market participants, high production costs are the primary cause of the European Chequered Plate's price rise. However, buyers' wait-and-see attitude and low demand continued to stifle trading activity in Chequered Plate market. Market participants believe that the increase in the downstream inquiries and prices level may remain uncertain before the end of this year.

According to buyers, hand-to-mouth bookings, a pessimistic demand outlook, and weak market conditions resulted in Chequered Plate prices remaining largely stable. Manufacturers stated that the market started with surplus inquiries during the year's first half, but the H2 ended with limited inquiries. Buyers have reserved sufficient inventories of Chequered Plate for January 2023 delivery, but they still need to secure the February 2023 stockpile. Thus, significant manufacturers anticipate entering the market to ensure adequate inventories and determine whether an uptrend is long-term.

Chequered Plate manufacturers claim that big buyers have left the market after booking necessary volumes a week ago. However, the current market is slowing down due to the approaching Christmas holidays. Furthermore, a German Chequered Plate manufacturer was heard giving discounts for limited quantities of excess material that needed to be sold, and this discounted material was only available to a limited number of customers.

As per our sources, European manufacturers cited rising raw material costs as a significant factor in price recovery. The market's bullish sentiment has been supported by a combination of stable distributor demand due to restocking and the effects of production cuts implemented by EU steelmakers in the second half of the year. However, some players predicted that Chequered Plate prices would remain relatively high due to low end-user consumption. Thus, the discussion of SS Chequered Plate (304-5mm) for FOB Hamburg settled at USD 3848/MT in November 2022.

According to the ChemAnalyst, Chequered Plate prices will remain stable in the coming weeks due to hand-to-mouth bookings and cautious buying inquiries. Despite significant price hikes announced by major manufacturers, ChemAnalyst anticipates that substantial changes will not occur by the end of this year.